Owners of historic buildings on Elm Street awarded much higher offers to make way for César Chávez expansion

One of the oldest buildings in town inches closer to demolition following the special commissioners' latest offer.

More than four years after the city of Dallas first made it clear it wanted to raze some of the downtown’s oldest remaining buildings to widen what’s now known as César Chávez Boulevard, the city council’s one step closer to breaking out the wrecking ball.

Nevertheless, the council will be told to deposit the money into a Dallas County court account so the city can at least attempt to get on with the expansions of Chávez and Pearl Expressway from Commerce Street to Live Oak Street — a road-widening that’s only possible if those buildings are erased.

The city council is scheduled to vote on the deal February 13; right now it’s on the consent agenda. Ten days later those checks go into the account. And as far as the city’s concerned, that’s that: The city has 90 days to get those buildings emptied, which means paying moving expenses for the businesses still in there. But at the end of those three months, boom goes the dynamite.

Fonberg and Harvard Companies partner James Walker are still itching to fight City Hall. But they won’t be able to stop the demolition of the buildings at the corner of Elm and Chávez if they take a single penny out of that account. If they make any withdrawal whatsoever, the only thing they’ll be able to fight over is how much they get paid.

And at this point, it becomes something of a game show for the owners, a sort of real-estate version of Deal or No Deal. The owners can take the special commissioners’ significantly higher offers now, or challenge them and risk losing everything.

In all likelihood, the money will be deposited into an account and just sit there; then the owners will challenge the city’s right to take the property. City attorneys weren’t available for comment, but sources at City Hall familiar with the dispute say the owners can try to make the case that razing those buildings serves no “public purpose” or that the city simply doesn’t have the right to seize them.

“The city has no respect for these older boutique buildings,” says Walker. “Zero respect. They see nothing there. And on top of everything else it irritates me to where I want every last dollar. They’re not far from what would probably make us happy. But you can’t replace those buildings. That’s the problem. There may be, in what I call the city core, maybe 20 old buildings left. And that’s sad.”

Messages have been left for architect Craig Melde, who has previously expressed interest in moving at least one of the buildings to a spot near the Dallas Farmers Market. City Hall sources say he’s still hoping to relocate 2226 Elm, if it’s not cost-prohibitive.

[Update at 11:12 a.m.: Melde says he’s “still very interested” in moving 2226 Elm. Matter of fact, he says, he has a site near the downtown farmers market picked out, and he’s priced out the move. “It looks pretty appealing, frankly,” he says. “Right now, systems are go, but I will need a little financial jelp from the city, frankly. I’m the only one crazy enough int he city to do this.”]

If nothing else, though, the city may have time on its side after all: Fonberg says he’s just tired of fighting the city, and starting to wonder if he’s not throwing good money after bad at this late date.

“It reminds me of the federal government: They wear the [expletive] out of you,” he says. “You have to have a hearing, then another hearing then another hearing. We’ll do what we gotta do. The offer’s too low. But on the other hand I don’t want to keep spending money to prove they didn’t give enough. It’ll cost more than it’s worth. And that, right there, is the fine line.”

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